The Best Of The Geekie Awards’ New Fashion And Armor Category [Featured]

On Sunday the second annual Geekie Awards took place in Los Angeles, celebrating geek culture with 12 different categories. This year a new category was added that focused on the growing area of geek fashion. The Fashion and Armor category, presented by Vanichi Magazine, was added after awards creator and showrunner Kristen Nedopak saw the fashions people wore on the red carpet at last year’s event.

“As a female geek, I’ve never hidden the side of me that embraces being a woman, and that means dressing up or down when I please. ‘Geek Couture’ has grown tremendously in the last few years, and more women are realizing they can still be geeks and look beautiful too!” Nedopak told Fashionably Geek. “We’re seeing designers getting creative with the art of fashion in these genres, and we wanted to honor that in this year’s show.”

There were five nominees in the category specializing in armor, steampunk, corsetry, and more. The winner will receive a full feature fashion spread in an issue of Vanichi Magazine.

Find out who won and get a glimpse of all the nominees’ stylish, geeky products after the break!

Burbank-based steampunk designer Donna Ricci told Fashionably Geek that Clockwork Couture harkens back to a romantic era of chivalry with an updated twist. Founded in 2008, the company sells a wide-range of steampunk fashions for men and women including corsets, waistcoats, footwear, accessories, and much more.

“Our nod to the Victorian era includes equality, education and empathy. By celebrating the machine and damning the factory, we are reminding others of what it means to incorporate a hand-crafted piece of wardrobe into their lives. By selecting from our pieces, you are committing yourself to a piece that will live more than 20 years, instead of fad clothing. We hope that by providing goods that heirloom quality, that our impact on the planet will lessen, and a more thoughtful consumer is born,” Ricci said.

Clockwork Couture doesn’t carry leather or fur products and carries mainly vegan and cruelty-free goods. The prices vary per product from about $19.95 to over $150.

“Geeks love to let their freak flag fly and there’s no better place to showcase your nerdy love like wearing it on your sleeve. So many people think being geeky means not caring about what you wear, but fashion is about self-expression,” Ricci said.

If it’s custom crafted armor you’re looking for, Sharp Mountain Leather has you covered. John McGovern crafts custom-designed fantasy leather armor and accessories for his Etsy shop. McGovern told Fashionably Geek their designs are inspired by a love of all things fantasy and sci-fi. Their products range from chest and head pieces to bracelets and cuffs. Prices vary from $24.99 to $1,850.

McGovern said the addition of this category to the Geekies is fantastic.

“What we wear is one of the biggest ways we let people know who we are, and what we’re about. You can’t have an awards show for ‘all things Geekie’ without including what today’s geek is wearing,” he said.

Created by Kayla Stojek in 2011, Texas-based design company Zombie Peepshow offers geeks styles in the unique combination of girly pinup and horror. The Etsy shop sells custom corsets and accessories, but their main product is custom shoes. These heels have themes ranging from adorable to scary.

Stojek sometimes works for more than 18 hours on a product due to her attention to detail and it shows in each custom piece. Smaller items can cost around $45 to $50 while more intricate work like the corsets and shoes can cost from $130 to $500.

Lauren Bregman launched Castle Corsetry in 2009 and Sunday night her company won the first-ever Fashion and Armor Geekie Award! With more than a decade of experience in corset and costume design, she’s worked with all different types of materials and designed all types of corsets from compact fashion cinchers to full fledged waist-trainers. No matter your fandom, you’ll be able to find a corset at her shop. Products start at $50 for leggings and skirts, going up to $375 for a leather corset.

Bregman thinks the inclusion of this category is important because “geek fashion is an ever-growing trend that needs to be acknowledged by the mainstream media.”

“Girls don’t want to only wear unisex t-shirts and jeans anymore! Geek girls need real geek fashion and couture pieces to show their true colors! It’s not just about the boys anymore!” Bregman told Fashionably Geek. “There are up-and-coming brands in women’s fashion (Castle Corsetry included) that are doing everything in their power to be the next big thing for lady geeks!”

Learn more about The Geekie Awards and the other category winners here!